The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 633.87 points, or 2.05 percent, to 30,303.17. The S&P 500 fell 98.85 points, or 2.57 percent, to 3,750.77. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 355.47 points, or 2.61 percent, to 13,270.60.
All the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors pulled back noticeably, with communication services down 3.82 percent, leading the losses.
Boeing shares fell around 4 percent after the company posted a much wider-than-expected fourth quarter loss.
Shares of Microsoft were up slightly after its results topped analyst expectations.
U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded lower, with all the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on a downbeat note.
Investors digested a policy update by the Federal Reserve.
The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at the record-low level of near zero, as the country grapples with slowing economic recovery amid surging COVID-19 cases.
"The pace of the recovery in economic activity and employment has moderated in recent months, with weakness concentrated in the sectors most adversely affected by the pandemic," the Fed said in a statement after concluding its first policy meeting of 2021.
"Weaker demand and earlier declines in oil prices have been holding down consumer price inflation," the Fed continued, maintaining the target range for the federal funds rate at 0-0.25 percent.
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